Sulawesi is one of those places on nearly every diver’s bucket list. If not, it ought to be. A dozen years ago, people would have thought you daft to go diving there, much less build a dive resort in an area dominated by dark volcanic sand. Yet in Sulawesi there are nearly two dozen resorts vying for divers’ dollars, yen and euros.

Global diving travel has become increasingly easy over the last decade or so, providing easy access to a growing number of tropical and exotic destinations. So, for many divers residing in cooler climates or new to the sport, it is tempting to look only towards these warm distant destinations and perhaps ignore the wealth of marine life on their own doorstep.

The sperm whale is the canonical whale, its form immortalized by books and drawings centuries old. When you ask a child to draw a whale, it is likely that what will come out of her developing mind most likely resembles a sperm whale, an animal with a huge, box-like head and tiny pectoral fins whose evolution seems to defy logical explanation

Viewing a torrent of flowing liquid turmoil while safe and dry on shore is enough to make anybody hesitate about signing up for a dive charter in the Skookumchuck Narrows. This is also the place where rushing tidal currents commonly reach impressive speeds of 14-16 knots (30 km/hr)!

Impressions from Antarctica, photographed by Michael Aw and Göran Ehlmé

Deep in the heart of Siberia lies one of the world’s largest lakes and one of its seven underwater wonders.

To understand why, let me share these images with you; they were all taken in 2008 when Aliwal Shoal was at its best.